Spoiler antennas including an antenna element in a spoiler have been widely used as a vehicle-mounted antenna. Spoilers are accessories that are attached to the body of a vehicle, for regulating the flow of air surrounding the vehicle and for giving an aesthetic appearance to the vehicle. Spoilers include visor-shaped spoilers that are attached above the rear window of a vehicle, and wing-shaped spoilers that are attached at the rear of a vehicle. Typically, spoilers are formed by a hollow plastic resin, and an antenna element is attached to the inside of a spoiler.
Patent Document 1 identified below describes a spoiler antenna serving as a vehicle antenna device. The spoiler antenna is a spoiler that includes an antenna element formed by a conductor. A plurality of fixing components having insertion holes formed therein are disposed at predetermined positions on an inner surface of the spoiler. The antenna element is inserted through the insertion holes of the fixing components, and is fixed to the inside of the spoiler via the fixing components. Patent Document 1 also discloses a spoiler antenna having engagement tabs projecting from an inner wall of the spoiler in place of the fixing components. In this spoiler antenna, the antenna element is held in the engagement tabs, so that the antenna element is fixed to the spoiler.
Vehicle-mounted antennas further include other antennas such as antennas having an antenna element attached to the inside of a bumper that is formed by a hollow plastic resin, and antennas having an antenna element attached to an overhead console in the cabin.